


Stowaway

by Patomac



Series: Writer's Month 2020 [7]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Pets, Rabbits, Slice of Life, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25834003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patomac/pseuds/Patomac
Summary: Callie wakes up to find a stowaway in her quarters. A very fluffy stowaway.
Series: Writer's Month 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862173
Kudos: 2
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	Stowaway

**Author's Note:**

> For Writer's Month Day 10: Bunnies

I woke face to face with an exceptionally large rabbit.

“Holy—” I jerked away from it, only to find myself tumbling off the bed.

I hit the deck with a smack that nearly knocked the wind out of me. I laid there for a few moments, dazed and wheezing.

The rabbit hopped down from the bed and settled itself on my chest.

“What are you—get off of me.” I rolled over, dumping the rabbit onto the floor. It had the gall to glare at me, but I would not be guilted by a rodent, no matter how large it was. I dragged myself to my feet, put on my day clothes, and then seized the little thing by the scruff of the neck.

Three minutes later I plonked it down on the Captain’s control panel. Its oversized feet scrabbled for purchase on the smooth surface. “What the fuck is this?”

She slowly lifted her head from the environmental readings scrawled across the panel. “It appears to be a rabbit.”

“I know that,” I said. “What I meant was, what is it doing here?”

“I haven’t a clue.”

Olethe chose that moment to stroll into the flight deck. She nearly spit out her coffee when she saw the rabbit. “What the fuck is that?”

“Do I need to hire a biology teacher to give you all lessons?” the Captain said.

Olethe ignored her. She came over to the table to peer down at the rabbit. It raised one furry paw to its face and began to groom itself.

“Cute little thing,” Olethe said.

“You only say that because you didn’t wake up with it staring at you,” I said. “Where did it come from?”

“It probably hopped aboard when we were on Deimos,” Olethe said. “Remember that crate of abrarros? Those things are delicious. That’s bunny bait if I’ve ever heard of it.”

“You seem to know a lot about rabbits,” I said. “Maybe you should—”

“Oh no,” Olethe said. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not taking care of it.”

“Well I’m not taking care of it either!” I said. “It’s creepy.”

“Oh psshaw.” Olethe reached out and scratched it under the chin. “It’s harmless. Kind of cute, even. What do you think, Captain? Callie could use a pet, couldn’t she? Might mellow her out a touch.”

I didn’t miss the way her eyes sparkled. “I don’t want a pet!” I said, stamping my foot. “Can’t we just… I don’t know, release it or something?”

The Captain rubbed the bridge of her nose. “We can’t just toss it onto a foreign planet, Callie. It will wreak havoc on the ecosystem.”

“Then what are we supposed to do with it?” I asked.

“Keep it. Dispose of it. I don’t care.”

I looked at the Captain, and then at the bunny. It stared at me with wide, innocent eyes.

I groaned. “Fine then. Somebody on this ship has to want you.”

* * *

I tried Tiona first. She laughed herself silly. Then Korr turned up. She took one look at the fuzzball cuddled in my arm, and immediately started making puns.

I rolled my eyes and retreated to Hoshiko’s quarters. “I don’t suppose you’d like to adopt a rabbit, would you?”

“Oh!” she stood up from her chair in a hurry and rushed over to the door. Hoshiko was a petite woman with a love for all things excessively feminine. She’d painted the walls of her quarters an aggressive pink, and most of her jumpsuits had little embroidered patches to cover up the holes. I figured that if I could get anyone on this crew to adopt a rabbit, it would be Hoshiko.

She patted the bunny in my arms gently. “She’s quite sweet. Where did she come from?”

I shrugged and repeated Olethe’s theory about Deimos and the abrarros. “The Captain says we need to find a home for her.”

She smiled at me. “I think you already have.”

“So you’ll take her?”

“Me?” Hoshiko straightened. “Oh no! Callie, I meant you! She obviously likes you.”

I glanced down at the rabbit, and then back up at Hoshiko. “Come again?”

“She’s sleeping in your arms,” Hoshiko said. “She trusts you.”

I sighed. “Look, I’m not really the pet type of person.”

“Neither am I,” Hoshiko said. “Most of us aren’t. Travelers, and all that.”

“So you won’t take her?”

Hoshiko grinned. She pinched my cheek. “Not a chance.”

* * *

And that was how I acquired Attila the Bun, terror of the lettuce crate.


End file.
